I suppose the first question to be answered is whether there is a place in the Irish motoring world for a 3-litre version of the Lexus IS200, a car which has opened up the Lexus brand both in this country and throughout Europe. The IS200 has worked because it provided a much-needed entry to the marque for those who either couldn’t afford £50,000-plus or wanted a smaller car than the GS300.

Well, somebody who owns an IS200 told me recently that he’d like to trade up, but the gap between the 2-litre car and the GS was simply too great. And while there are higher-spec levels of the IS from the £30,000 starter car, he’d also like something that looked a little different.

And perhaps there’s the answer. At least, the new ‘wagon’ version of the IS, the SportCross, does look different. And it comes only with the 3-litre, a detuned version of the one that propels the GS300, so to move upward, my friend will have to go for the bigger engine anyway.

And the pricing, which hasn’t been finalised as I write this, will probably reflect that middle ground which has so far been unbridgeable. Which suggests something in the region of £40,000?

So is there more than just an engine and a little bit of extra real estate in the rear for that further £10,000? Yep, there is. There’s an image of under-40, maybe not yet with serious family needs but a lifestyle that suggests surfboarding (because there is a facility where a standard surfboard will fit INSIDE the car), and the wish to make ‘the Lexus statement’ of wanting to be different from those peers who muck about in German name brands, one of whom is also big in the continental taxi business.

You’re not likely to see many Lexus taxis for a long time, I think.

Also in the SportCross you have the uncompromised driving experience which the IS200 already provides, but with substantially more poke. And some other interesting goodies to help you have fun with that poke. The IS200 ethos has always been to allow a satisfying driving experience, and adding such technologies as Vehicle Stability Control has been done in such a way as to keep that experience there.

Brendan Steer, Lexus Ireland’s technical and training guru, put it this way at the European launch in Switzerland: “the VSC allows any particular driver to approach his or her own limitations, but when it senses this it gets ready to deal with any problems.” In the meantime, though, you can get on with testing or honing your driving skills.

Putting an extended end on a carefully-balanced car can often upset things, with even a little extra weight capable of tipping near-perfection to a more compromised adequacy. Though on the same wheelbase as the saloon IS, the SportCross IS somewhat longer, but the designers managed to produce a vehicle which was in total (including the heavier engine) only 50kgs heavier than the 200 car. An all-aluminum rear door helped here, as did the elimination of a standard rear door keylock mechanism in favour of an electronic lock.

	The Sat-Nav system will not initially be available in Ireland.

Fiddling around with the metalwork didn’t do any real damage to aerodynamics, either, leaving the 5-door with a Cd of 0.30 compared to 0.29 in the saloon. While on that, the IS series cars now have a revised grille and lights treatment, and the SportCross has a different bumper design to give it its own unique look amongst its siblings. Inside, it is more or less the IS car we’ve come to respect for its creature comfort, though the wagon has more ‘techy’ trim detailing in places.

And while Lexus say the SportCross is not pretending to be a wagon, the hatchback (hmm, don’t think they’ll appreciate it being termed that) format does give the IS series class-leading luggage space, and adds a couple of tricks in flexibility of storage under the rear floor.

Just a couple of details about the 3-litre engine. It is, of course, a straight six, outputs 214hp, and has a strong torque response right from 2000rpm to the redline. Raw acceleration is 0-62mph is sub 8 secs.

The 3-litre ISes (there’s a saloon version as well, though we didn’t drive it this time out) come only with the Lexus e-Shift automatic gearbox. Essentially this is the same 5-speed unit available on the GS300, with push-button ‘manual’ shifting possible through buttons on the steering wheel. Otherwise it is an ‘intelligent’ autobox that, as they say, ‘learns’ how you’re driving and adapts accordingly.

Put all that together on the road, and you have in the first instance a superbly refined package, starting with the silk-smooth engine. Lit up, it emits a vibrationless and almost inaudible burble. Encouraged to more by the electronically-controlled accelerator and there is a sense of power prodded more than the sound of it.

It is not my practice to write too much about a car’s driving from the relatively rushed and usually short experience of a launch, but we did have a full day’s driving in some of the most spectacular Swiss scenery, from soft autumn-balmy valleys to passes above the current snowline (just in time - they’ll be closed for the winter in another few weeks, and the snowploughs have already been out on our route).

No matter what level we were at, the surfaces were consistent and excellent, and properly-graded tight corners provided opportunity to see just how well the balance of the original IS had been maintained.

Very well is the short comment on that. And the autobox is beautifully matched to the engine and chassis. Though to get the best out of it in twisting conditions, the ‘manual’ facility is quite necessary.

Though my driving companion - an experienced racing driver - thoroughly enjoyed the push-button gearshifting, I’m still not convinced that it’s a system for me. I still prefer my ‘tiptronic’ shifters between the seats, where they are more naturally to hand and always where you expect them. But I take it as a quirk in myself, so I’m not knocking the e-Shift. Indeed, I became reasonably adept with it, and I’m looking forward to the challenge when the car comes my way for more extended appraisal.